A collection of Tom's articles and other news from Tom's Fitness and Martial Arts in Paris, IL.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

BIGGEST LOSER "14" -- FIRST NIGHT!

After quite a layoff, we finally got another group going last Monday night. It’s always an exciting time for me, but I could tell that some of them were a little nervous.

That initial weigh-in causes so much apprehension, but it’s such a powerful tool for the participants. You can “want-to”, know you “need-to”, but when you see that number pop up on the scale, it gives you a pretty good “have-to.”

This is where your initial motivation comes from. It almost makes you sick to think of it, but when you realize how much you weigh compared to what you should weigh, it gets your attention. And when you see how much of your body weight is fat, it really starts to sink in.

Many people haven’t weighed in for a long time, but avoiding the issue doesn’t help you deal with it. Once you know you have a problem, and have made a decision to start doing something, that’s when change can occur. This holds true for a lot of problems, including being obese or just overweight. That’s where we were Monday night.

About half of the 25 had already done Biggest Loser at least once, and a few had done it several times. The most consistent thing I heard was that they’d put a lot of the weight back on. To a person, they all said that they’d just quit working out and watching what they ate.

I told them not to worry about it, because that was the past and this was their chance to get a new start. One advantage they’ll have is that they pretty much know what to do and how to do it. They just need structure and accountability. We’re going to give them plenty of that!

We took a beginning measure for weight, body fat%, body water%, muscle mass, physique rating, their basal metabolic rate (BMR), metabolic age, bone mass, and visceral fat (around their internal organs). We’re going to track all those variables each week and it’ll give us an even better idea of how their body is changing. Next week I’ll cover them in detail for you.

They also took tape measurements of their arm, chest, stomach, butt, and thigh. I also encouraged them to take a couple of pictures wearing shorts and sports bra (gals). Sometimes it’s hard to see the changes when you’re losing weight, and a couple front and side view pictures every month will help keep you motivated.

After the preliminary measures and an introduction, it was time for the physical testing. Everyone did a 1-minute pushup test, a 1-minute sit-up test, a 1-minute body squat test, and then finished with a 1-mile walk/run as fast as they could. At the end of the 12 weeks, we’ll do them again, and they’ll be astonished how much they’ll have improved.

Their goal this week was to fill out and return a daily calorie log next Monday night, and to get their workouts going. They’re supposed to hit the weight circuit three days (M, W, F), and do a cardio workout on the alternating days (T, TH, SA).

They were also given a new secret weapon—a second workout each day! As simple as just getting out and walking a mile first thing in the morning, this second workout will really make a difference in their calorie burning.

Next week we’ll have the results from Week One. It’s not too late for you to participate either, but you’ve got to let me know right away! Feel free to contact me on Facebook at Tom’s Fitness.